Shillong, March 27: Opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) chief Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit on Monday sought action against those behaving themselves as “VIPs” by using tinted glasses on thier vehicles.

Raising the issue during the Question Hour in the Assembly, Basaiawmoit said there are too many people who are behaving themselves as VIPs. He alleged that such people using tinted glasses sometimes are friends, relatives or business partners of those at the helm of affairs.

Wanting to know the steps taken against such violators, the Nongkrem legislator said that the Supreme Court on April 27, 2012 has prohibited the use of tinted glass on vehicles beyond the permissible limit prescribed under the Motor Vehicles Act, saying its use was a social evil and helped criminals to escape from the clutches of law.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia said the manufacturer may produce the vehices with tinted glasses having Visual Light Transmission (VLT) of safety glasses windscreen (front and rear) as 70 per cent and side glasses as 40 per cent VLT, respectively. The bench had directed the Home Secretary, as well as police heads of the respective states to ensure compliance with its direction, which would become operative May 4, 2012.

He said that the bench had also stated: “Use of these black films has been proved to be a criminal’s paradise and a social evil. This certainly helps the criminals to escape from the eyes of the police and aids in commission of heinous crimes like sexual assault on women, robberies, kidnapping etc. If these crimes can be reduced by enforcing the prohibition of law, it would further the cause of Rule of Law and Public interest as well.”

In his reply, chief minister Conrad K Sangma assured the House that immediate action has been taken whenever complaints have come to the notice of the government and said, “Even in my vehicle I don’t put black films”.

There are 103 VIPs in different categories which include 2 under Z+ category, 10 Z category, 19 Y category and 72 X category.

Sangma however said the security entitlements of protected persons is as per ‘Yellow Book’, a secret document of security arrangement, adding, hence, he is restricted to give too many details on the yellow book.